Easy & Inexpensive Planked Wall

This is probably my favorite project to date and I am so completely thrilled to be able to share it with you all!  A couple of weeks ago in my [Project Notebook] series I mentioned that I was interested in doing a planked accent wall in our home. (You can see the original post here.)

 

My initial idea was to mark off stripes and paint the wall to mimic planks, but after much research and sharing my plan with my husband, we decided to go with wood and do our own twist on the planked wall.

 

 

My first bit of prep work was to paint the entire accent wall. I used Behr Ultra White in a semi gloss, which is what I have used on all the trim work and doors in our home.  I chose to use it here to create that look of a paneled wall.

 



 

Next, and mostly because my math skills are atrocious and I would never fully trust myself, Martino took measurements of the wall to figure out how long and wide each piece of wood should be and how we could best maximize the wood we were going to purchase.

 



 

We ended up buying one sheet of 5.5 mm 4 ft. x 8 ft. underlayment at the Home Depot for just $12.17 (here) and, (this was the really exciting part), they made all the cuts for us for free! Martino had the wood cut at 4 1/2 inch wide, strips which match the height of our baseboard.  But, we didn't cover the entire wall. We just randomly spaced the boards, so what you are actually seeing is alternating rows of the wood strips with the painted plaster walls.  This saved both time and money and created an extra layer of depth and texture.

 



 

 

 

Now, we live in an old house, on a hill, and I truly do not think there is one spot that is actually level. With that said, Martino did have to adjust the length of the boards to fit. But, it was so simple just using a utility knife and then a sanding block. Of note, he started with the board that would be placed closest to the ceiling and made sure that it, and each subsequent board, was level before attaching it to the wall.  To attach the boards to the wall he used paneling nails which cost $2.37 per pack; we only needed one package (here).  Lastly, I primed and painted the wood to match the rest of the wall in Bright White.

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some shots documenting the process...

I kept the furniture and much of the décor the same in the area, with the exception of our $6.99 thrift store painting, that relocated from the other side of the room.

 



 

 

Since I always have primer, trim paint and sanding blocks on hand, our total cost for the project was under $15.  Amazing right?

 

And, do you want to hear the most ridiculous story about our trip to Home Depot to get the supplies for the project?  This is what I posted the very next day on Facebook. I truly cannot believe myself sometimes!

 

So, I totally didn't recognize Martino in the Home Depot last night (we each took part of the list and planned to meet up). I was aimlessly walking around looking for him when I saw this guy staring at me and thought "what the heck is with that guy...back off buddy." When I suddenly realized it was Martino looking at me wondering why I had a ridiculous expression on my face and not actually walking over to him. OMG. I totally thought he was wearing a different jacket and forgot he had a beard. And then to top it off, later on, an employee yelled over to me asking if I had found my husband. Do not take me anywhere.

 

Linking to:

http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/2013/02/nifty-thrifty-tuesday-no152.html http://www.jenniferrizzo.com/   http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/